Enough Windmill Jousting

The whining and minutia bashing has to stop. A united society can and will banish the hate-mongering GOP Gorilla in the room. But, this Quixotic panache for negativity-beyond-nuance is not the proper strategy.

POTUS is not King (or Queen in this case). There are 3 branches and they all must be pruned, fertilized and cared for.

The next President must work with a congress that starts working again after the most dismal record in its history. Commander and Chief duties will include SCOTUS appointments that must be blessed by this congress as well. So…..

Liz and The BERN supporters rally around these great Senators as they draft legislation that addresses income inequality, education, and all those issues that have flapped in the winds of whining or winning. A progressive congress is what America wants and deserves. This is the revolution and its time is now.

Does anyone really think and HRC POTUS would veto this stuff?

The death knell of Citizens United and terrorism against Women’s bodies is a few appointments away. You better believe an HRC court appointment will be received with, at least, relief, if not enthusiasm by a BLUE legislature.

Somebody wins, somebody loses, everybody complains, and the American people patiently await the elusive return to public service. Enough!

Unite. Teach civics in the schools. Motivate the next generation to participate and even run for office. Cultivate the coalitions and embrace those few who still remain sane among the once “loyal” opposition.

It’s time. Anything less than this is a dumb, Drumpf mistake.

Turning BLUE is a good thing.

Protest / Not Punches

I am proud that I was a Viet Nam antiwar protestor. I am honored to have been part of that magical Fall, 1970 class at Kent State University. Between calling out the Cambodia catastrophe for what it was and putting a face on “Kids Killing Kids on Campus” that became a mind tattoo at KSU, I and my colleagues in compassion suffered tear gas, insults, threats and all the usual hate mongering.Void of facts but high in volatility, these “attacks” bordered on threatening. We held our ground, held our candles, held onto the folks songs of passive protest and, in my humble opinion, won the war against the war.

But, there was a constant rumble within our movement and marches. Sometimes there were agitated and aggressive  participants in our demonstrations. In spite of our “Peace Marshall” protest policing, these usually drunk or stoned marauders were clearly there to bust up something, throw bottles, start fights or just create mayhem for the sake of mayhem. Most were tagged “Townies”, young thugs from the town out for an inebriated adventure in destruction. Some were deranged students who missed the non-violent message, preferring anarchy over peaceful protest. I can still see and hear them. No idea about Cambodia antics that make Iraq today look like a war crime sandbox. Little care about the image of the movement. And, what was most disturbing, vocal viciousness towards vets and those who still had the misfortune to be “serving” in the SouthEast Asia jungles.

We were anti-war, not anti-armed services. It never escaped us that those following orders were not the perpetrators of the policies that murdered millions while making money for the Inner circle of insane avarice. Ironic to this day is the warning IKE, yes the 5 star General President, gave about the untethered growth of the military industrial complex. The GOP today could use a vacation back to that vintage era.

I guess the point is, when I see, hear, and read about violent altercations at the Drumpf rallies, I ask myself, “Do these people vote? Are the ant-drumpf armies truly there to protest this Presidential-Punk-Wanna Bee? Or is it a chance to bust up some stuff, smack a few people who look different, and otherwise create chaos for the sake of chaos?”

We fight the good fight against fascism with facts and peaceful protest. We organize, educate, enlighten, inform, challenge, engage and gather with passion for all these tenets, and punches for no one. Anyone behaving differently needs to be denounced and, most likely, detoxed.

Smacking people inside Drumpf rallies does not make battery against Drumpf supporters outside “fair game”. It actually serves as fuel to fan the flames of hatred, bigotry, and racism that has brought us here in the first place.

Time to be nice everyone. Ignoring megalomaniacs=the quickest way to defuse them. No attention? No coverage? No new scapegoat to spew lies about? They will go back to fraud in the private sector.

Public servants who want our vote and support will make it clear that freedom of speech and assembly does not include destructive antics or aggravated assault, even in the case of something as evil-dangerous-awful and pathetic as Drumpf on a dais of divisionist delusion.

Vote. Advocate. March. Read. Do the due diligence. Stupid is as stupid does so leave the scuffles to morons who have no knowledge of or caring for our Constitutional Republic. Never embrace the hate. That plays right into the playbook of the privileged, powerful pundits of anti-societal poison.

Wanna break something? Break your bias and leave loser lemming land. Peace and Love are still groovy things.

 

In Vino Americano Veritas

Ya got gas? Acid reflux? Looking for that chunky burp of relief?

Have a Coke and a Smile!

This is not your typical soda-bashing broadcast. Coca Cola, like just about everything else, is good stuff in moderation.

For me, moderation is about once a month. The near nuclear ingredients really hit the spot, offering a sweet and tastey fix that mirrors cheesecake or a lucious, syrup-covered brownie.

But, monthly. Not five times a day.

This stuff cleans toilets, disintegrates acid build up on car battery terminals (old farts like me use a Coke and a Smile for this one), and introduces all types of nasty nuisances in the human nutritional system.

If you are not having a beer or some wine or a mixed drink, if you are under the legal drinking age (which is 11 and 1/2 here in Roma), if you don’t drink tap water (not drinking Roman Aqueduct water is the sign of shear stupidity)…then, make it a “Coca?” as the waiters here say.

Romans live to be 117. They are razor thin with strong bones. They eat tons of carbs and drink alchohol all day. They smoke. Plus, Romans screw around behind, on, about, and in concert with each other. Why?

Some say, “No stress“. True since nothing gets done but everyone looks good. Anxiety is limited to a double-parking location close to the Forno (bakery) to pick up bread for Nona combined with the perfect ensemble-outfit to wear as you exit your vehicle and strut confidently to the shop, ignoring the blaring car horns perpetrated by those you just blocked.

Others maintain, “Romans walk everywhere”. That is a basic fact as well. Roma is to be strolled. The locals enjoy it even more than the tourists. Double-park the car, walk to the trattoria, spend 3 hours eating, walk to the bar for a cafe’, then saunter to the gelateria for, duh, gelato.  Return to your car to find a dead battery and nearly-dead-distraught owner of the vehicle you blocked. Smile and depart.

But, I believe it is the water! The water comes down from the hills as it has for over 2 millenia. The water is not treated or stored or bottled. It flows through the city, squirts out of the “Nasoni” (little nose) drinking fountains that dot the Centre. And it has the natural minerals that water should have before some civic moron decides to alter it.

So why default to “Coca” when you have these typically complex Roman water choices?

• Aqua Con Gas
• Aqua Frizzante
• Water with Bubbles
• Aqua Senza Gas
• Aqua Naturale
• Water without Bubbles
• Aqua Rubineto
• Tap Water
• con limone (ask for some lemon slices and spike you aqua)
• The Hell with it. Slurp at the NASONI before you eat

So have an “Aqua” and a smile. Save the Coca Cola for the medicine cabinet, a monthly carbonated celebration (with rum,maybe?), or that special time when you need to counteract the over-indulgence of perrerincino, garlic, and onions you laced your Pizza Margarita con Bufala with.

Burp! Ahh! It’s the real thing!